Rajini pips Sarath to win 250cc race

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As expected, K. Rajini’s decision to compete in the Honda CBR 250cc class livened up the fourth round of the Sidvin-FMSCI national bike racing championship here at the Irungattukottai track on Saturday.

Since the minute Rajini (Moto-Rev India) announced his entry in the one-make championship, the two-wheeler racing fraternity has been excited about the possible duel between the seasoned rider and youngster Sarath Kumar (MP Ten 10), who made a clean sweep in the previous round.

To make it more interesting, the wet qualifying session saw a surprise pole winner in M. Gautham of Moto-Rev. Sarath had to start alongside him from the front row, while Rajini who went in with a wrong set of tyres for the qualifying session had to contend with the sixth spot after a crash.

The race, however, was no surprise. At the start, Rajini had a swift getaway and moved to second position at the first corner. The second lap saw him taking the lead, while Sarath slipped to fourth.

Sarath, the first Indian to compete in MotoGP (125cc), however, upped the ante in the fourth lap by racking up the fastest timing of 2:01.390s. The much-awaited Rajini-Sarath duel kept fans on their toes in the last two laps, but it was Rajini who had the last laugh.

For the record, only the two-tenth of a second separated Rajini and Sarath. Gautham took the final podium spot. Later, Rajini posted his second victory of the day with a comprehensive win in the Superbikes category.

Results: Group A (600cc): 1. K. Rajini (Moto-Rev India); 2. R. Deepak (Preethi Racing); 3. M. Gautham (Moto-Rev India). Group B (165cc, fully modified): 1. K. Jagan (TVS Racing); 2. Shyam Shankar (Moto-Rev India); 3. Sudhakar Kesavan; Group C (165cc, restricted modifications): 1. Sumit Lucas Toppo (Performance Racing); 2. Shyam Shankar (Moto-Rev India); 3. D. Dinesh Kumar (Moto-Rev India).

Group D (130cc, Novice): 1. Abdul Wahab (TVS Racing); 2. Kamlesh Thakur (Sparks) Racing; 3. K.Y. Ahamed (TVS Racing). TVS Apache RTR 180 novice: 1. Abdul Wahab (Chennai); 2. Md. Intekhab Alam (Chidambaram); 3. Rahul G. Rathod (Yavatmal). CBR 250R Open: 1. K. Rajini (Moto-Rev); 2.
Sarathkumar (MP Ten10); 3. M. Gautham (Moto-Rev India). CB Twister novice: 1. Md. Intekhab Alam (Jharkhand); 2. Meka Vidhuraj (AP); 3. Mithun Kumar (Chennai). Yamaha YZF R15 Novice: 1. R. Ramesh Kumar (Chennai); 2. Md. Intekhab Alam (Chidambaram); 3. C. Akash (Chennai). TVS Apache RTR 180 Open: 1. Vivek Mani (Chennai); 2. P. Ananth Raj (Chennai); 3. Rajesh Rathina Kumar (Chennai).